Lawrence Looking Elk

It wasn’t until the nurse asked for his employee ID number that Lawrence Looking Elk realized the free flu shot being given to teachers and faculty of the Anne Sullivan Communication Center was not meant for him.

“Someone just told me to go get my flu shot,” Looking Elk says with a chuckle. “They had no idea I didn’t work there.”

It was an easy mistake. Since health issues forced Looking Elk to retire from his job as a network engineer six years ago, he has become a staple in the hallways and classrooms of the school, dedicating as many as forty hours a week to Minneapolis Public Schools. Besides keeping him busy, volunteering allows him to keep a “finger on the pulse” of the district that is educating his own two sons.

For Looking Elk, doing “whatever the teacher tells me to do” has included tutoring students and cutting out paper snowflakes. He also serves on the Indian Education Department for Minneapolis Public Schools parent board, the District Parent Advisory Council, and the K–8 math adoption committee.

Though he is happy to work in the classroom, there is one place he’ll never go. “I will not volunteer in my boys’ classroom,” Looking Elk says. “I know how embarrassing that can be.”

Some may question his reluctance to get a full-time, paying position in the district, but Looking Elk says he enjoys the mobility of being a volunteer, where he can cover all areas of the district. Plus, volunteering has other perks. “I can always speak my mind,” he says with a sly smile. “I try to be a good spokesperson for the district, but I’ll speak my mind if I need to.”